Page 56 - Healthcare News July/August 2022

Neighbors’ Quick Response Earns MHA’s You Matter! Award
SPRINGFIELD — Wilbraham residents Chelsea Corr- Limoges and husband Zachary Limoges were honored with the Mental Health Association’s You Matter! award on July 8 for their fast response when an MHA staffer experienced a sudden, critical medical emergency outside an MHA residential program.
MHA created the award in 2018 to highlight employees and members of the community committed to making a difference in the lives of others and whose kindness has resulted in an immediate impact.
The couple, with 21-month-old son Nolan in a stroller and dogs Marshall and Ruby on leash, were about to embark on a late-afternoon walk when they heard a shout and saw an individual collapse in the driveway across the street from their house. The residence opposite is one of MHA’s homes for individuals with developmental disabili- ties, and the person on the ground, to whom Zach ran to help, one of its residential support specialists.
“It was quickly apparent something was wrong,” said Chelsea, who pushed the dogs into the couple’s gated backyard and yelled immediately toward a neighbor to ask if anyone had medical training. “Zach was already on with
911, giving information on the location, and they were clearly instructing Zach what to do. By the time I turned around, Zach had made him comfortable. The EMTs ar- rived and took over.”
The couple’s community-minded engagement didn’t end there. “The staff member was the caretaker at the time,” Zach said. “Chelsea went inside the residence and found a number for MHA and volunteered to look after the residents until another staff member arrived, and I looked after Nolan.”
Chelsea added that Jim, one of the residents who had been outside, joined by another resident, showed her where the home’s office was, and that helped her find the on-call number.
“It was stressful, but I was able to be reassuring,” Chelsea said. “Mike, one of the residents, plays the drums, so he entertained me with a song, and I got a tour of the house and saw another resident’s artwork in the kitchen.”
She added that other neighbors offered to help, too. “It was a neighborhood affair,” said Chelsea, whose family have lived across from the MHA residence for two years.
Fred Destromp, program director of MHA’s Integration
and Community Living Division that serves individuals with developmental disabilities, said its staff member was “OK and had returned to work,” adding that “MHA is very grateful for the community and their support and their neighborly attitude.”
Chelsea said the couple was glad to learn the staff member is fine, and are gratified to receive the You Mat- ter! award. “We are very touched and very honored. We are just happy we were there and would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Chelsea is an assistant professor of Environmental Science in the School of Arts and Sciences at Springfield College, and Zach, a senior systems administrator, works remotely in IT for Punahoe, a school in Hawaii.
“In any neighborhood where we operate a residential program, our goal is to always assimilate into the fabric of the community, to see and be seen as neighbors,” said Kimberley Lee, MHA’s vice president of Resource Devel- opment and Branding. “Chelsea and Zach’s response to our urgent need was so incredibly special to MHA as it clearly demonstrates just how much we are a member of that community.”
Square One Given $7 Million by Children’s Trust of Massachusetts
SPRINGFIELD — Thousands of families in Springfield will continue to benefit from Square One’s Healthy Fami- lies program, thanks to a grant award from Children’s Trust of Massachusetts totaling $1.4 million per year for the next five years.
“Square One is proud to continue to provide this vital service to families throughout Greater Springfield and to serve as a model for other programs around the coun- try,” said Melissa Blissett, Square One’s vice president
of Family Support Services. “The program encapsulates our mission, and with the success we have achieved since program inception in 2010, we are eager to continue the important work we have been engaged in with parents, their children, and their extended families.”
Healthy Families is a home-based family support and
coaching program that supports first-time parents to help them create stable, nurturing environments for their children.
The program matches parents with trained profession- als who visit families’ homes to provide support during pregnancy and the child’s first three years of life. Home visitors teach parents about proper baby care, promote nurturing and attachment, practice effective parenting skills, and ensure parents have a solid understanding of healthy child development. They also counsel parents on achieving personal goals such as going back to school or securing a job.
“Our goal in everything we do is to position our children for success in school and beyond,” Square One President and CEO Dawn DiStefano said. “In order to
be successful in this goal, we know that we have to focus on the whole family and the challenges endured by both children and their parents. Our Healthy Families program enables us to take on this holistic approach to serving our community.”
Parents can sign up for the program as early as during pregnancy and continue up to the child’s third birthday. Square One’s professionally trained home visitors and supervisors work with the participating families to help tackle the challenges that parenting can bring on, find resources in the community, and support parents as they work to achieve personal goals such as completing school or finding the right job.
To for more information, visit www.startatsquareone. org or call (413) 732-5183.
LifePath Receives $5,000 Operation Money Wise Grant
GREENFIELD — LifePath received $5,000 in funding for its Money Manage- ment program through the 2022 round
of Operation Money Wise. The State Treasurer’s Office of Economic Empower- ment, the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, and the Division of Banks provide this grant to fund financial education programs for veteran-serving nonprofit organizations, public agen-
cies, and institutions of higher education throughout Massachusetts.
With the funding from the Operation
Money Wise grant, LifePath will assist veterans to better understand and manage their financial situations through its Money Management program. There is currently a waiting list for the program, but the grant will allow LifePath to serve more veterans in Western and Central Mass.
If you or someone you know is an older veteran and needs support to manage their money, or if you are interested in becoming a Money Management volun- teer, contact LifePath at (413) 773-5555 or lifepathma.org.
“We are grateful to the Office of Eco- nomic Empowerment, the Office of Con- sumer Affairs and Business Regulation, and the Division of Banks for supporting the needs of veterans in Franklin County and the North Quabbin,” said Lynne Feldman, director of Community Services at LifePath. “We are excited to be able to expand this service and serve those who have served.”
The Money Management program helps people who have difficulty writing checks or managing their basic living
expenses for a variety of reasons, includ- ing vision difficulties, memory difficulties, and physical disabilities. Through this program, volunteers are trained to educate and assist older adults in managing their money.
LifePath is one of nine organizations to receive a grant through this year’s Opera- tion Money Wise, which funded a total
of $43,900. Funding is possible through a Division of Banks settlement over alleged unlawful lending practices.
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